Hotel Safety

This is a subject that I cannot write enough about.  It seems as though there are always new situations that arise to help me learn about being safe away from home, either alone or with others.

Last week while traveling for work I stayed in a very nice hotel in a good part of town with several people from the office and that always makes me feel more comfortable but I was quickly reminded to never let my guard down.  After having dinner with a co-worker downstairs at the hotel restaurant we headed back up to our rooms, we were on different floors - hers was key access only.  Just before the doors closed a man jumped on and when we asked what floor he simply nodded and never said where he was going. 

When the elevator stopped on my floor, he got off behind me and immediately I felt very uncomfortable.  I thought about what happened recently to my daughter and the blog post I wrote about her experience.  I decided to wait by the elevator to see if I could hear him going into a room before I went to mine.  When I didn't hear anything, I peeked around the corner only to see him looking up and down the hallway.  I quickly pushed the down button on the elevator to go back to the lobby.  When he came back around the corner, he was startled to see me standing there and I told him I had forgotten something downstairs.  He pushed the up button and just stared at me.  I was beginning to panic when his elevator came I waited until it closed and quickly ran to my room.  After alerting my friend and notifying the front desk I thought about how I could have handled that in a much safer way.

First, I would not have gotten off on my own floor.  I would have stayed on with her and called someone from the front desk to meet us.  I also would not have stayed by the elevators, I should have immediately gone back down to the lobby and asked for someone to go back up with me as there was a strange man wandering the hall.

Granted what I did do was better than just casually going to my room and let him see where I was staying but I did not go far enough to protect myself.  He may have just been lost but there is never a good reason to stay around to find out.  She and I both had a bad feeling when he got on the elevator but we were too busy chatting and because we were together we felt a false sense of security.  This was a great experience for me to heighten my personal awareness about staying safe no matter where I am or who I am with.





 

1 year on

It has been one year since I started this blog.  It has been a fantastic way for me to share my experiences with others in the international travel community.  Women's Independent Travel was born out of my love of all things travel and this blog has been a perfect forum to connect with like minded people and organizations which is something I truly miss as a solo traveler.  Now I feel as if I have an extended family around the world and I am very grateful for all the encouragement and support everywhere I go. 

Safe and happy travels to you all!

Slow Travel

As I think about planning my late winter holiday I've realized that my travel style has changed a great deal in recent years.  I'm no longer interested in the high octane, thrill seeking adventures as I once was.  Even going to extreme and exotic locations is just not high on my list anymore.  Now I am craving that journey that is sweet and slow, something peaceful and beautiful to rest my soul.      

Umami of Travel

Umami is a food term for delicious - that combination of savory, sweet, sour, bitter and salty that excites our palates and so it is with travel.  Everything that makes each trip so memorable touches our spirit and becomes a part of us forever. 

For those of us who love the journey it is a divine delight of the senses.  Just like sitting down to a large buffet - every sight, sound, taste, touch and aroma fills us with wonder and excitement.

Short and Sweet

Sometimes the best getaways are those that are short and sweet.  So many people are so busy that they live for that precious once a year vacation.  Usually it's during the summer when the kids are out of school or over the holidays when everyone in the world is traveling and you come home more exhausted than when you left.  My solution is a decadent little weekend trip that makes me feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

I'm a big fan of being a tourist in your own city.  It's great fun to plan an activity or meet friends for a night out but stay in a hotel instead of at home.  Even one night makes me feel like I've had a nice break and doesn't take much time or planning at all. 

Most hotels offer weekend or package specials so it is an easy and affordable getaway right in your own home town.
   

Cape Hatteras

I was working in a small office in Denver and noticed a photo on a pamphlet laying on my desk.  The picture was of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse in North Carolina.  I'm not sure exactly what it was that intrigued me so but I couldn't get it out of my mind.  So much so that I took it home and kept it on my nightstand for several weeks. 

Even though geographically it was not that far away, from my small and simple life it seemed like a distant and foreign land.  All I could do was dream that one day I might be able to go there and just see this magnificent site.

That was over 30 years ago and just yesterday I saw another photo of that beautiful lighthouse and immediately it took me back to sitting at my desk in that tiny office, daydreaming of places I wanted to go and things I wanted to see.  I never did go to see the lighthouse but now it's time.  Somehow it stands as a beacon of hope and light from my dreams so long ago.  Next stop the Outer Banks.

Shy Girl on the Road

I have always been an extremely shy girl.  As a child we moved around a lot so I was always the "new girl" and it made it very difficult to develop or maintain relationships.  Just as soon as I would begin to form an attachment to someone we would leave and go on to the next place.  It made me feel very lonely and isolated but the one constant for me was reading.  No matter where we were I could always go to the library and escape into that realm of people and places that I only dreamt of. 

Now as an adult, I intentionally go places where I don’t know anyone and feel very comfortable engaging in conversations and easily make friends everywhere I go.  What is interesting to me is that I don’t do as much of that when I am at home, I tend to revert back to that nervous little girl who feels just a bit out of place.   Perhaps being on the road takes me back to those stories I read when I was young and I don’t have to be the shy girl anymore.